Everybody Loves Diamonds Review: Directed by Gianluca Maria Tavarelli and produced by Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Gangarossa for Wildside, this comedy heist series stars Kim Rossi Stuart, Anna Foglietta, Gian Marco Tognazzi, Carlotta Antonelli, Leonardo Lidi, Rupert Everett, Malcolm McDowell and others. The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 45-60 minutes and is based on the 2003 Antwerp Diamond Heist.
Everybody Loves Diamonds Trailer
Everybody Loves Diamonds Plot
This heist comedy series follows a team of small-time Italian thieves headed by jeweller Leonardo Notarbartolo (Kim Rossi Stuart), a man with sticky fingers, who pull off a daring robbery by bypassing the top-level security of the Antwerp Diamond Centre and get away from billions worth of diamonds. As the case comes out in the eyes of the world, a surprising turn of events lands Notarbartolo in front of the justice system and his carefully orchestrated plans in ruins.
– Everybody Loves Diamonds Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Everybody Loves Diamonds Review
When we start Everybody Loves Diamonds, protagonist Leonardo (played by Kim Rossi Stuart) comes off as a suave player whose love for burglary takes him on wild adventures that have the possibility of destroying everyone’s lives, especially those close to him. Although the latter part is quite on point, Leo is an absolutely annoying wet sock of a character who constantly whines for scenes on end. It doesn’t help that we are asked to follow and root for this person whose motivations are just that he likes to steal.
This is supposed to be a comedy heist series. With 8 almost one-hour-long episodes, the series is already too long. We sit there watching these people trying to rob a secure diamond vault and face several obstacles. On the other hand, we also watch these people face their personal dilemmas in the middle of planning this heist. It’s a fine plot on paper, but it’s the execution that falters heavily.
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Everybody Loves Diamonds has several moving pieces that can mess things up for our small-time thieves. Interestingly enough, none of the trained and smart people in this Antwerp facility is even remotely interested in being cautious or even questioning a person’s motivations when they do anything out of the norm. It blows my mind how these thieves are able to plan and execute this mission with such little backlash, considering how we have been made to feel like this building is the end all be all of security.
This takes the thrill out of the heist, as well as the fact that the comedy elements don’t mesh well with the more thrilling aspects at all. You are left to feel very confused about what the goal here is – are we supposed to be laughing or feeling excited about the heist? On top of that, the series goes back and forth before and after the heist, letting us know that someone will backstab someone else while simultaneously telling us how the heist took place. Since we see literally everything together, things get very messy. Before long, you’d lose interest in the series because it never really captures your interest in the first place.
On top of that, every character is so annoying just for the fun of it. I think it was a ploy to make things funnier, but I doubt many thieves will get into a verbal spat in the middle of the “biggest heist” just because. It doesn’t make any sense, just like many other such choices. These additions furthermore bog the runtime down thoroughly, making it a chore to watch. You’d expect your heist people who are capable of pulling off the perfect crime to be sensible and somewhat serious and with a clear plan in mind.
Instead, you are left with these silly people who are constantly fighting. The characters are a chore every minute that they are on-screen, and surprisingly, none are any better. When we focus on the after-heist part, it just gets even more convoluted, with random people coming in and trying to strong-arm Leonardo into telling them where the diamonds are. After a while, you lose track of what is happening because there is simply too much to keep track of.
That being said, the toxic love story ends on an odd high, and at least all the actors do a decent enough job for this not to be the worst thing one could watch. Just a very bland, confusing and boring one.
Everybody Loves Diamonds Review: Final Thoughts
At the end of the 8-episode saga, watching Leonardo looking at the camera and blabbering about something or the other as people double and triple cross each other is extremely tiring and rather confusing. There are other better heist shows to watch that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This one is too cliched and bloated to make any impact. I guess the actual story is quite interesting, so that’s worth something.
Everybody Loves Diamonds is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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